Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Today I saw a really great layered look for fall with a shirt dress and heavy belted sweater over it, and cozy thigh high socks. It gave me an itch for warm layers already and it's just barely summer! So I did a lighter version for this post.

The sweater vest is breathable with different types of stitching, and being that it has no sleeves, would hold up well in summer time. I suppose whether or not the socks are needed depends on your local weather!

Monday, June 28, 2010

I love this daytime look. It started with the shoes. They also come in tan, but what fun is that? The dress is breezy and simple, with the bow adding interest without being distracting. I chose a smaller, pretty necklace so as to not compete with those amazing shoes.

You, Only Better

It's a strange culture we live in: we're always told Just be yourself!, yet the bestseller list is chock-full of self-help books and memoirs depicting radical change. Finding the balance between total transformation and chilling in our pajamas is difficult, but that's why I love the blogosphere. Here, inspiration is served up one manageable bite at a time. Want to save the world? Start with vintage beachwear - the purchase benefits disaster victims. Hoping your man evolves into a sharp-dressed diaper-changer? Let's begin with a chic- and sustainable- Dad's day gift. Looking for your dream job? Take baby steps by revamping your work wardrobe and taking notes from inspiring entrepreneurs.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Just a quick post to let you folks know that I will be on vacation with my husband visiting family until next Friday. Aside from a queued Sunday Splurge post that you can expect on, well, Sunday, there won't be any posts ready til Monday the 28th. Hopefully!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I've been wanting to feature a romper for a while now. It's been difficult to find one that I loved, along with items to go with it. Many times I'd get stuck and just give up and move on to another outfit. This time I did it! Here is one in a bold bold pattern with a few great neutral accessories.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I love martinis. I feel so classy drinking out of those fancy glasses! These stainless steel glasses look sleek and kind of retro, but they also keep your drink cold til the last drop. Drink charms are a fun way to make sure don't confuse glasses. Way better than the old sharpie on the red cup trick.

Monday, June 14, 2010

If I weren't already wearing a bridesmaids dress, this is exactly what I would love to wear to the wedding I'm attending this weekend. The dress is so soft and romantic. It's modest, yet still really gorgeous.

Hello! My name is Sam and I am the one that's been hiding behind the hundred dollar curtain for the past month. I came up with the idea for Hundy&Undy while laying in bed one night not long after being laid off from my job as a nanny. Over the years I've really evolved and grown, fashion-wise, but one thing stayed generally the same: my frugality! This was something I thought a lot of people could relate to. My favorite parts of all the fashion magazines are where they piece together outfits. My least favorite parts of all the fashion magazines are where they piece together outfits, and I see the prices are well beyond my price range.

So that's where the idea came from for this blog. Hundy&Undy features outfits that I've pieced together for you. These are for you to take literally, or as inspiration for your own wardrobe. The main point of each post being that the total of each collection be less than $100. ("Oh, now I get the name!")

Something else that I love, that has also found a way into this blog, is Etsy and the whole handmade movement. I've been a buyer on Etsy for four years and an off-and-on seller for nearly that. The handmade community is really special and I wanted to support it by incorporating it into my blog. To help make this easier, I expanded my subjects to include not only fashion, but decor and gifts as well. You'll usually find at least one handmade item in nearly every fashion post, and sometimes all of the items in the decor and gift posts are handmade.

The blog has been really well received and I want to thank everyone involved so far; the readers, commenters, and link-sharers. This brings me to my final point of this introduction. In the handmade and blogging community, it's all about connections. When I started this blog, I tried to keep it written like blurbs you would see in a magazine. I wanted to keep the look sleek and clean. The longer I tried to do that, the more difficult it became! So this is my introductory post to provide a more personal experience for you and me on Hundy&Undy. From now on I vow to rave on about what I love in my posts as opposed to using generic adjectives and sterile impersonal statements. I hope this will only improve the quality of this blog as well as the connection between you, the reader, and myself here at Hundy&Undy.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Enjoy the summer sun with a good old-fashioned picnic! This insulated picnic basket keeps food hot or cold and comes with reusable plastic dishes and flatware. The blanket folds up into itself for easy carrying and has a waterproof underside for when the grass is still dewy.

Friday, June 4, 2010

"It is in all of us to defy expectations, to go into the world and to be brave. To want, to need, to hunger for adventures. To embrace change and chance and risk so that we may breathe and know what it is to be free."